In vivo mutation in gene A of splenic lymphocytes from phiX174 transgenic mice

In vivo mutation analysis using the ΦX174 transgenic mouse and comparisons with other transgenes and endogenous genes

The ΦX174 transgenic mouse was first developed as an in vivo Ames test, detecting base pair substitution (bps) at a single bp in a reversion assay. A forward mutational assay was also developed, which is a gain of function assay that also detects bps exclusively. Later work with both assays focused on establishing that a mutation was fixed in vivo using single-burst analysis: determining the number of mutant progeny virus from an electroporated cell by dividing the culture into aliquots before scoring mutants. We review results obtained from single-burst analysis, including testing the hypothesis that high mutant frequencies (MFs) of G:C to A:T mutation recovered by transgenic targets include significant numbers of unrepaired G:T mismatches. Comparison between the ΦX174 and lacI transgenes in mouse spleen indicates that the spontaneous bps mutation frequency per nucleotide (mf(n)) is not significantly lower for ΦX174 than for lacI; the response to ENU is also comparable. For the lacI transgene, the spontaneous bps mf(n) is highly age-dependent up to 12 weeks of age and the linear trend extrapolates at conception to a frequency close to the human bps mf(n) per generation of 1.7 × 10(-8). Unexpectedly, we found that the lacI somatic (spleen) bps mf(n) per cell division at early ages was estimated to be the same as for the human germ-line. The bps mf(n) in bone marrow for the gpt transgene is comparable to spleen for the lacI and ΦX174 transgenes. We conclude that the G:C to A:T transition is characteristic of spontaneous in vivo mutation and that the MFs measured in these transgenes at early ages reflect the expected accumulation of in vivo mutation typical of endogenous mammalian mutation rates. However, spontaneous and induced mf(n)s per nucleotide for the cII gene in spleen are 5-10 times higher than for these other transgenes.

Detailed review of transgenic rodent mutation assays

Induced chromosomal and gene mutations play a role in carcinogenesis and may be involved in the production of birth defects and other disease conditions. While it is widely accepted that in vivo mutation assays are more relevant to the human condition than are in vitro assays, our ability to evaluate mutagenesis in vivo in a broad range of tissues has historically been quite limited. The development of transgenic rodent (TGR) mutation models has given us the ability to detect, quantify, and sequence mutations in a range of somatic and germ cells. This document provides a comprehensive review of the TGR mutation assay literature and assesses the potential use of these assays in a regulatory context. The information is arranged as follows. (1) TGR mutagenicity models and their use for the analysis of gene and chromosomal mutation are fully described. (2) The principles underlying current OECD tests for the assessment of genotoxicity in vitro and in vivo, and also nontransgenic assays available for assessment of gene mutation, are described. (3) All available information pertaining to the conduct of TGR assays and important parameters of assay performance have been tabulated and analyzed. (4) The performance of TGR assays, both in isolation and as part of a battery of in vitro and in vivo short-term genotoxicity tests, in predicting carcinogenicity is described. (5) Recommendations are made regarding the experimental parameters for TGR assays, and the use of TGR assays in a regulatory context.

History of the science of mutagenesis from a personal perspective

A career in the study of mutagenesis spanning 50 years is a gift few scientists have been bestowed. My tenure in the field started in 1953, the year the structure of DNA became known (Watson and Crick [1953]: Nature 171:737). Before that time, it was suspected that DNA was the genetic material based on the research of Oswald T. Avery (Avery et al. [1944]: J Exp Med 79:137), but many scientists still believed that proteins or polysaccharides could be the genetic material. The present article describes a lifetime of personal experience in the field of chemical mutagenesis. The methods used to treat viruses with chemical mutagens were well developed in the 1950s. Here I review the early use of nitrous acid and hydroxylamine as mutagens in eukaryotes, the development of methods for the metabolic activation of mutagens by microsomal preparations, and the selection of a mutant tester set for the qualitative characterization of the mutagenic activity of chemicals. These studies provided critical background information that was used by Bruce Ames in the development of his Salmonella/microsome assay, widely known as the Ames test (Ames et al. [1973]: Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 70:2281-2285). This article also describes how a set of diagnostic chemical mutagens was selected and used to identify the molecular nature of gene mutations. Today, DNA sequencing has replaced the use of diagnostic mutagens, but studies of this kind formed the foundation of modern mutation research. They also helped set the stage for the organization of the Environmental Mutagen Society and the Environmental Mutagen Information Center, which are described. The article ends with the development of mammalian single-cell mutation assays, the first system for studying in vivo mutagenesis using recoverable vectors in transgenic animals, other mutation assays in intact mammals, and my thoughts on the critically important area of germ cell mutagenesis. This narrative is not a complete autobiographical account, in that I have selected only those experiences that I feel are important for the history of the field and the edification of today's students. I hope I have shown that science not only is a valuable pursuit but can also be fun, stimulating, and satisfying. A good sense of humor and the knowledge that many discoveries come by serendipity are essential.

Spontaneous mutant frequency and mutation spectrum for gene A of phiX174 grown in E. coli

The use of transgenic targets for measuring mutant frequencies in mammalian tissue requires an estimate of the mutant frequency that results from recovery of the transgene in bacterial recovery systems. In this study, we have determined the spontaneous mutant frequency, estimated the mutation rate, and ascertained the mutation spectrum for gene A of phiX174 grown in E. coli strain CQ2 from 156 small independent cultures. The mutant frequency of 12 of the 156 cultures was 17 +/- 1.0 x 10(-6) and the estimated mutation rate per gene replication was 7.4 +/- 2.3 x 10(-6). The mutant frequency and spectrum from E. coli were not significantly different from that of solvent-treated embryonic mouse cells in culture, 19 +/- 0.5 x 10(-6) (Valentine CR et al. [2002]: Environ Mol Mutagen 39:55-68), indicating that those spontaneous mutants were primarily derived from E. coli. The E. coli spectrum was heavily weighted toward two major target sites (hot spots), 4225A-->G (56%) and 4218G-->A or C (20%). Four new target sites and one new mutational event were recovered by the gene A forward assay. A mutant spectrum from an expanded phage stock was also determined to assess the effects of propagating the virus. This mutant frequency was higher (6 x 10(-4)), contained more double mutants (15% compared to 0.6%), and had a significantly different spectrum from the spectrum for independent cultures (fewer A:T-->G:C and G:C-->C:G changes and more G:C-->A:T; P < 0.002). The E. coli mutation spectrum will be useful for determining the origin of gene A mutation in tissues of phiX174 transgenic mice.